1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for dispensing flexible material and more particularly to such a container which is uniquely well suited to housing and dispensing flexible ducting in such a manner as to allow the operator to dispense selected lengths of ducting without releasing more than the desired length from the housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The storage, transport and dispensing of materials such as used in construction frequently presents very difficult problems. Materials employed at construction sites are commonly very bulky and must be used in quantities which require powered equipment to move them to the precise location desired for use. Conversely, even though the materials are difficult to move, frequently they are relatively fragile and thus loss due to damage is common. Still further, because such materials are difficult to handle, construction workers commonly leave unused materials at the construction site upon completion of the job rather than attempting to recover for subsequent use those materials which are otherwise entirely satisfactory. All of these factors contribute to waste at the job site and increase the cost of construction.
Flexible ducting used in virtually all construction presents these same difficulties. Flexible ducting is employed to handle the movement of air in the heating and cooling systems in virtually all habitable structures including homes, office buildings, factories and the like. Flexible ducting is, essentially, a very lightweight insulated conduit which is both longitudinally and transversely compressible. It can be produced in substantially continuous lengths, but for the sake of convenience is most commonly packaged in corrugated cardboard containers housing predetermined lengths of the ducting.
The ducting is commonly endwardly compressed within the container so that the maximum length of ducting can be housed in the smallest possible container. The compression of the ducting along its longitudinal axis is quite substantial and does not in any way damage the ducting. However, at the job site when such a container is opened for use, the ducting rapidly expands from the container to assume its normal length. Even if all of the length of duct is required for use, this phenomenon presents difficulties. With all of the ducting expelled from the container, it is subject to damage from puncturing, tearing or the like before it is installed. It may also be inconvenient to install when having to maneuver it through confined areas in its fully expanded configuration. It can, of course, at this time also become damaged.
Most commonly, not all of the ducting in one container will have to be employed at one time. While the ducting can easily be severed in the length or lengths desired, the unused portion becomes a problem. If left out of the container, it will likely become damaged or so impregnated with dust, paint, or other construction substances as to become unusable. The container in which it was originally housed may be available for use, but it is very difficult and certainly inconvenient to attempt to force the unused portion of ducting back within the container since this requires recompression of the ducting along its longitudinal axis. In this process the ducting characteristically will buckle and resist reinsertion under compression within the container. This process may itself damage the ducting so as to render it unusable. In other instances, the container may have been so torn apart in opening it that it can no longer house the ducting.
In any case, the result of such problems is that the ducting is simply abandoned at the job site thereby increasing the costs of construction.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a container for dispensing flexible material having particular utility in the dispensing of flexible ducting and which permits the user to dispense from the container only the length of flexible ducting desired while retaining the remainder thereof within the housing for subsequent use; which preserves the unused portion of the ducting in a protected condition at the job site insulated from damage due to puncturing, tearing or the like or due to dust, paint or other construction materials; and which insures that waste due to abandonment of unused ducting at the job site is reduced to a minimum.